Projects

Since 2011 VU Library participates in Digital Curator Vocational Education Europe(DigCurV) project, which is a multilateral network funded under the European Commission's Leonardo da Vinci programme. Its aim is to support and extend vocational training for digital curators of libraries, archives, museums and cultural activities sector. The DigCurV consortium brings together organisations from Europe, Canada and the USA each with a strong track record of international working in the field of digital libraries and digital preservation. It will use the 30 months of the project to identify, analyse and profile existing training opportunities and methodologies; survey training needs in the sector; establish a curriculum framework from which training programmes can be developed. The curriculum will be tested and evaluated by stakeholders before publication in at least the four languages of the project.

Since 2009 VU Library takes part in the World Digital Library – WDL. WDL contains digitized cultural heritage objects – documents from all over the world, accessible to users via one internet address: http://www.wdl.org/en/. At the moment WDL, which is administered by the U.S. Library of Congress, includes as partners 49 institutions (libraries, universities, institutes) from different countries of the world. VU Library has contributed to this Library digitized copies of manuscript court books of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In 2010 the Library started participating in the project Development of Virtual Electronic Heritage System (VEPS). It is a three-year national digitization project, funded by EU Structural Funds. The Project has been initiated and is headed by the National M. Mažvydas Library. The Project includes 10 partners – libraries, museums, archives. The main goal of the Project is to ensure the succession of creation and dissemination of Lithuanian cultural heritage digitized content, by developing virtual system of electronic heritage to create a permanent data bank of memory storage – digitized cultural heritage as well as develop electronic services. This is a follow up of the previously carried out project – Development of Lithuanian Virtual Library Information System,which resulted in the portal ePaveldas

Since 2010 the Library participates in one more three-year national digitization project, funded by EU Structural Funds – Virtual historical Lithuania: Grand Duchy of Lithuania.The Project has been initiated by Vilnius University Faculty of History. The Library is the principal provider of the content in the project. Specialists of VU Communication Faculty and ITTC (Centre for Information Technology Development) take part in the Project as well.
The aim of the Project is to create an information system presenting Lithuanian history and culture – virtual memory institution Virtual historical Lithuania: GDL. During the Project historical maps and other unique exhibits from J. Lelevel collection will be digitized and described enabling the public to use them for educational, scientific and representational purposes. New electronic services will be created: Mapedia – functional sub-system of the portal based on Wikipedia principles enabling the users to contribute to the content creation, functional sub-system The Map as a source of history, uniting old digital maps with historical content and the project geographic information system (GIS), designed to work with spatial and descriptive information.

Since 2007, the Library has taken part in implementation activities for the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Lithuania's programme: Lithuanian virtual university 2007–2012. The aim is to help the members of the programme on the basis of accumulated experience and created infrastructure of information technologies and using the network model to implement and develop their activities in virtual space and provide educational services to the Lithuanian population as well as competing in global markets.

Since 2007, the library has been an associated partner of the project:DigitalPreservationEurope funded by the EU Sixth framework programme in information society technologies. The aim is to create a database that ensures consistent and proactive collaboration and intercommunication; to experience exchange and dissemination of research results; to develop preservation services, their implementation and accounting options; to improve perception, skills and existing resources in the field of preservation of digital objects.

Since 2000, the library has been working on the project Transferring of texts of manuscript courtbooks to compact discs funded by the Open Society Fund-Lithuania and the Open Society Institute. The aim of the Project - to preserve texts of courtbooks of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania stored in the Manuscript Department and to ensure access to scientists and researchers. In 2004 a follow up of the project was preparedCreation of full text database of XVII–XIX c. manuscript courtbooks, which aims to present unique manuscripts by new means of information and communication as a part of Lithuanian history and culture and to ensure seamless access to distant users. The digitized court books may be found here.

Since 1997, on the initiative of Lithuanian Association of Academic Libraries (LAAL) and by order of Lithuanian Rectors‘Conference the library has been participating in the project coordinated by Kaunas University of Technology Lithuanian Academic Libraries Network. The principal aim was to prepare and implement a functional organizational structure of Lithuanian academic libraries network that would improve the work of higher school libraries, information supply to users and library services as well as transference of information about Lithuanian documents and different factographic material to users abroad.

Completed

2009

In 2009 the Library carried out the project I see – I learn: Vilnius University cultural heritage in virtual space. The project is funded by Culture Support Fund. The Project aims to organize digital archives of virtual exhibitions of VU Library cultural heritage and to ensure permanent access to distant users thus promoting education of users.

From 2007 to 2009, the library took part in the project: ENRICH – European Networking Resources and Information concerning Cultural Heritage Towards a European Digital Library of Manuscripts financed by the eContentPlus programme. The aim was to create a common virtual accessible to all environment of scientific research, especially to those who investigate manuscripts and incunabula, rare printed books, other historical documents as well as to create devices able to integrate the existing but scattered digitized content.

2008

In 2008, the Library worked on a Project supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Lithuania Theatralized cycle of seminars „Detective of Scientific Information“. The aim of the Project was to get pupils of senior classes acquainted with the process of scientific investigation in a fun and non-traditional way by disclosing mysteries and intricacies of information search as one of the principal means of scientific investigation.

In 2008, the library took part in the project Public reading in non-traditional spaces of the Lithuanian Government prompting reading programme „2008 – Year of Reading“ presenting the event „Surrounded by books, songs and poetry“. The aim was to acquaint the public with 'yet to be seen' Library premises and promote reading with the assistance of a well known actor. The organizers of the event hoped that the chosen space and the performer would motivate the participants not only to read but to create as well.

Throughout the winter and spring of 2008, the library carried out the project: "Find Vilnius University Library anew". This included "Discoveries of Winter and Spring", which invited people to visit and discover what is new in the historic, but ever changing library. During the course of the project, we strove to help visitors not only to spend winter and spring afternoons in an intriguing and prolific way, but also to see Lithuania's oldest and richest academic library at close range.

From 2005 to 2008, the library took part in the project Creation of Lithuanian virtual library and full text documents databases (VDDB) supported by EU Structural Funds. The aim was to complement 'the Lifelong Learning' process with innovative means and methods of studying and to create a Lithuanian virtual library and full text document database (VDDB). Thus, search and access to electronic information resources and virtual services are being unified and VDDB will be harmonized with the standards of Europe and the world.

In 2006, the library completed the Project Science in old Vilnius University supported by the Directorate for the Commemoration of the Millennium of Lithuania. The project's aim was to create a virtual exhibition about science in the oldest Lithuanian University since its roots.

2005

In 2005, the library took part in the united project of the United Nations Development Programme in Lithuania and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Strengthening of Lithuanian national capacities for development cooperation. The project's aim was to provide a collection of the newest books and computer equipment in a new course for students; to teach them uniform aspects of global and human development and support for the development of history, implementation and financing mechanisms.

10 May 2005, to commemorate its 435th anniversary, VUL organized an international conference Information resources for competence of academic community.

In 2005, the library implemented the UNESCO supported project: "Equal Access to Information and Knowledge" as a Prerequisite of Social Inclusion of Youth with Disabilities – Odysseus. The project's aim was to create a VUL competence centre for students with disabilities, to provide a possibility to use information resources and modern information technologies, to ensure and develop equal access to information and knowledge on the basis of new services of the academic library.

In 2005, the library implemented the project supported by EU Structural Funds:Investment Project of Reconstruction of Vilnius University Library Unused Premises. The project's aim was to prepare an investment project to assess options for the reconstruction of unused premises and equip them for the centre of information literacy competence training.

In 2005, the library carried out the project „Jews in the Baltic States“ for the Centre for Studies of the Culture and History of East European Jews programme: Monuments of Old Hebrew writing. The project's aim was to preserve a unique XIV c. manuscript book – The Old Testament, written on parchment in the old Hebrew language in a digitized copy.

2004

In 2004, the library completed the project Digitization of Prof. Česlovas Kudaba‘s personal archives photonegatives collection, in order to preserve the originals of photonegatives, to make them accessible to users in a more convenient way and to facilitate further research work. Implementation of the Project was supported by the Jubilee Commission for the Commemoration of 70th Anniversary of Prof. Česlovas Kudaba at the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.

In 2004, the library completed the project „Vilniaus žinios“ full text database creation. The Project was supported by the Commission on Traditions and Heritage of Lithuanistics at the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.

In 2004, the library completed the project Vilnius University architectural ensemblesupported by the Directorate for the Commemoration of the Millennium of Lithuania. The project's aim was the creation of virtual exhibition „Vilnius University architectural ensemble“.

Significant projects up to 2000

In 1997–1999, the library completed the project Internet reading room supported by the Open Society Fund-Lithuania. Its aim was to install a modern computerized reading room to receive information from different sources worldwide.

1995–1997, the library carried out EU TEMPUS PHARE programme project Integrated information systems for universities. The aim of the project – to improve management of universities creating integrated information system, helping to administer effectively university library and principal parts of studies and research.

In 1999, the library completed the project Vilnius in old photographs (end of XIX c. – 1914) supported by the Directorate for the Commemoration of the Millennium of Lithuania. The project's aim was to prepare virtual exhibition presenting photographs of Vilnius city from the VUL collections.

In 1989, a group for library systems created in VU Computing Centre together with VUL librarians prepared a library computerization project VU Library automated information system. Structure. Functions. Means of Realization, to create an integrated system embracing acquisition, uniform electronic catalogue of books and periodical database as well as serving of readers. The library system BIBLIO was created which became the beginning of the VUL electronic catalogue.